2000
#22,222
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,083
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.40
Rare Last name
Pinegar
An Anglo-Saxon surname likely derived from the Old English word "pin," meaning a woodworker or maker of wooden pegs.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,251 Americans carry the last name Pinegar. That puts it at #23,940 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.37 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 273,984 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pinegar surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
1.3K
1 in 273,984
Census rank
#23,940
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,091 bearers of the surname Pinegar in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.37 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 23940th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pinegar, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pinegar
The surname PINEGAR is believed to have originated in England, possibly during the medieval period. It is thought to be derived from an old English word "pynegan," which means "to pound" or "to grind." This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who worked as a miller or in a similar occupation involving grinding or pounding grain.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name PINEGAR can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire, dated 1279, which mentions a William Pynegar. This indicates that the name was already in use by the late 13th century in the county of Gloucestershire.
The PINEGAR surname also appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex from 1332, which lists a John Pynegar. This suggests that the name had spread to other parts of southern England by the early 14th century.
During the 16th century, the name PINEGAR was found in various records, such as the Parish Registers of Wiltshire, which mention a Richard Pinegar in 1559. Around the same time, in 1586, a John Pinegar is recorded in the Subsidy Rolls of Warwickshire.
One notable individual with the PINEGAR surname was Thomas Pinegar, born in 1647 in Gloucestershire. He was a prominent Quaker minister and author who wrote several religious works, including "A Treatise concerning the Spiritual Warfare," published in 1696.
Another individual of note was William Pinegar, born in 1732 in Somerset. He was a British soldier who served in the American Revolutionary War and later settled in Canada after the conflict ended.
In the 19th century, John Pinegar, born in 1823 in Oxfordshire, was a renowned horticulturist and nurseryman. He is credited with developing several new varieties of apples and pears, some of which still bear his name today.
Ellen Pinegar, born in 1856 in Wiltshire, was a notable figure in the early women's rights movement. She was an active campaigner for women's suffrage and served as the president of the Wiltshire Women's Suffrage Society.
Finally, Edward Pinegar, born in 1890 in Gloucestershire, was a distinguished archaeologist and historian. He conducted extensive research on the Roman settlements in his home county and authored several books on the subject, including "The Roman Occupation of Gloucestershire," published in 1927.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pinegar
Among Census respondents with the surname Pinegar, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Pinegar bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Pinegar surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.3% · 1,007
- Two or more races3.9% · 43
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 26
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 8
- Black or African American0.6% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pinegar
Pinegar appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#21,707
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,199
+116 bearers (+10.7%)
Per 100,000 0.41
Rank movement Up 515 places
2020
#23,940
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,091
-108 bearers (-9.0%)
Per 100,000 0.37
Rank movement Down 2,233 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #22,222 | 1,083 | 0.40 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #21,707 | 1,199 | 0.41 | +116 bearers (+10.7%) | Up 515 places |
| 2020 | #23,940 | 1,091 | 0.37 | -108 bearers (-9.0%) | Down 2,233 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Pinegar surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #21,707 | #23,940 | -10.3% |
| Count | 1,199 | 1,091 | -9.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.41 | 0.37 | -11.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pinegar bearers went from 1,199 to 1,091 (-9.0% change). The surname moved down 2,233 positions in the national ranking, going from #21,707 to #23,940.
FAQ
Pinegar surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pinegar?
Name Census estimates that about 1,251 living Americans carry the surname Pinegar. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 273,984 residents.
How common is Pinegar?
Pinegar ranks #23,940 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.37 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,091 people with the surname Pinegar. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,251), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.37 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.37 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Pinegar.
Has Pinegar become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pinegar went from 1,199 recorded bearers to 1,091. That is a decrease of 108 (-9.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #21,707 to #23,940.
What does the Census say about the background of Pinegar?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pinegar, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (2.4%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Pinegar in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.3% (1,007 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pinegar appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.3%), Two or More Races (3.9%), Hispanic (2.4%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Pinegar (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Pinegar mean?
An Anglo-Saxon surname likely derived from the Old English word "pin," meaning a woodworker or maker of wooden pegs. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Pinegar (0.37 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Pinegar?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.